Teens own up to Tamarac car burglaries, Sheriff's Office says

Photograph of items that the Broward Sheriff's Office says were taken… (Photo courtesy of the Broward…)

June 17, 2014|By Mike Clary, Sun Sentinel

TAMARAC — Having recently seen surveillance video showing car burglars in the community of Tamarac Lakes North, Broward Sheriff's Deputy Robert Rausch knew what to look for.

So at 2 a.m. Sunday, the two teenage boys he spotted standing in a parking lot carrying masks, gloves and a car cup holder full of coins seemed likely suspects.

The pair, a 16-year-old from Oakland Park, and his companion, 15, from Tamarac, were arrested Sunday and soon admitted their roles in several car burglaries, the Sheriff's Office said.

Each was charged with 24 counts of burglary of an unoccupied conveyance, three counts of grand theft, six counts of petit theft and one count of possession of cannabis.

According to officials, the two may face similar additional charges in other jurisdictions.

With permission from the boys' mothers, investigators went into the bedroom of each suspect and recovered dozens of items taken in what deputies called "a recent spate of car burglaries" in the area.

The Sun Sentinel is not naming the suspects because of their ages.

The teens' victims were the mostly elderly residents of Tamarac Lakes North and South, said Broward sheriff's spokeswoman Dani Moschella.

"This was some super-astute detective work on the part of Deputy Rausch," said Moschella.

Rausch had watched the surveillance video taken a week earlier. In that video, one of the teenagers is seen looping something around his neck while the other is in the background. Each has his face covered.

The recovered loot taken in the thefts includes several pairs of sunglasses, a small .22-caliber handgun, cellphones, an iPod, watches, CDs and cash, the Sheriff's Office said.

Anthony Mayers, a resident of Bouelvards of Tamarac, said he was awakened by authorities at 2 a.m. recently when they discovered a door on his car open. He was happy to hear of the arrests.

"I don't think police get high-fived very often and in this case they deserved it," he said.